My Plan to fill the new raised-raised beds...looking for comments - Page 7

Annie · February 4, 2013

Now I have another question. I have three raised beds and 12 whiskey barrels. Last year I planted most of my tomatoes in the whiskey and had good luck with them. They now need more soil added. Can I just add some rose soil to them along with my rabbit poop. I have spinach, lettuce and arugular planted in them now and they will probably be gone by the end of this month since we are having warmer weather. I used a lot of rose soil in them last year and they did good or would you suggest something else. First I have got to get rid of a bunch of wild hogs that we are trying to trap that has enjoyed tearing up my yard and part of my garden. Thanks for your help. Annie

z_willus_d · February 4, 2013

Annie, I haven't grown or "raised" roses, so I'm not a good one to comment on the appropriateness for rose soil application to tomato vines. If it's working well for you though, don't change it. Adding a bit of aged-manure and/or compost at the end of each season to refresh your barrels would be good. If you're growing in barrels, be sure to allow for drainage out the bottom, don't let them dry out in the sun, and think out a good support system for the vines.

I'm sure others here can provide better advice for the rose soil.
-naysen

z_willus_d · February 24, 2013

It's taken over 100 wheelbarrow loads, plenty of pickaxing, weeding, raking, and more, but as if this Sunday evening, it's finished. I'm really happy with this bed. It's about 4' wide and 30-32' across; goes down at least 2'.

I plan to load the back row up with ~15 tomato vines. In front of those I'll plant several tomatillo (sadly missed last season), a zucchini squash, and a few melon plants. I think everything will be happy there...lots of sun to go around on the hillside.

Now I just need to get my tomato seedlings in order. I've had a terrible time trying to graft so far. I've gone through droves of healthy seedlings, which last year weren't so healthy in my setup. Now I've got lots of healthy seedlings, and they go for the slaughter in my mad grafting experiments. For all that, I have managed to graft three tomato seedlings. I just need thirty-eight more to meet my mark. Let's say another 1000 healthy seedlings at my current rate.

But heck, I'm so happy with my raised bed, maybe I'll just let it rest bare this season.

-naysen

Dak · February 25, 2013

That looks fantastic, nice job. Now for the fun part.

z_willus_d · February 25, 2013

Thanks Dac. I'm looking forward to planting out!

troad · February 25, 2013

Naysen,
Great job. Looks really nice.

Mlm1 · February 25, 2013

Nansen, that is beautiful and an unbelievable amount of work. Great job.
Marla

z_willus_d · February 25, 2013

Troad, Marla- thanks for your kind remarks. I hope it's the last bed of its kind I need to put my back into for some time. But those are famous last words coming from my lips. I'm looking forward to seeing if my new soil mix will foster better plant health than the previous year's previous bed's mix.
-naysen

Crandrew · February 25, 2013

Naysen, The bed looks awesome! May I ask why you decided to use sprinkler heads vs sub irrigation/drip lines?

z_willus_d · February 25, 2013

Hi Crandrew, thanks...I'm happy with it.

On the irrigation, I've heard from several growers in different fields, all of whom I respect, that top irrigation (more like rain) is preferable to soakers. I know that it's desirable to keep the foliage dry, but I will not have to worry about that here as the risers will only douse the top 6" of the vines, and they'll be bare down that low to the ground. I can see and trust the coverage of this above ground irrigation setup. I know that everything is getting equal watering, since I have a circular setup where all risers will see the same water pressure. You don't get that with those soaker hoses, or even drip, where the pressure will fall off somewhat as you move away from the source toward the end-points. It's easy to repair this setup. I don't have to worry about a broken hose flooding one location and causing a drought in others. I think I can be reasonably water conservative once I get my 4-6" inch of redwood bark mulch loaded in the beds (the worms love that stuff too).

I'm sure there are other reasons for one vs. the other, but the above is what comes to mind for me.

Best.
-naysen

Crandrew · February 25, 2013

got it, thanks.

Annie · February 25, 2013

Great looking bed, how is your back hold up? Annie

Annie · February 25, 2013

When I went back and looked at the 1st. pictures I couldn't believe all the work. Also know why you need good soil. I wanted to do something similar to what you did but it was on flat land and nothing like as high. There is a place down from me that grows vegetables for the poor and they have done the same thing. I went and looked at it but figured there was no way I could do myself even with help so I just stuck with the smaller beds. You don't have to bend down, just walk along and pick all those tomatoes, though you might have to use a ladder. Annie

z_willus_d · February 25, 2013

Hi Annie,

Yes, a large part of the effort was in digging into the hillside and building up a terrace upon which to level the wall (and a path adjacent to it for walking and backside access). Building up the wall and dumping in the soil seems like easy street compared to that back breaking pick work. There's 70% river-rock in the hillside; the rest is sand and worm droppings/compost.

Have a great season.
-naysen

Annie · March 1, 2013

I just saw an article that granular molasses was good to put in your garden soil. I was at the nursery the other day and saw bags of soil which contained molasses. It was also quite expensive. I have granular molasses that I use for fire ants but never thought about putting it in my garden soil. Has anyone heard of this. Annie

February 25, 2013	#96
troad Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Des Moines, WA. Posts: 358	Naysen, Great job. Looks really nice. __________________ There's a fine line between gardening and madness.

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February 4, 2013	#91
Annie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Katy, Texas 77493 Posts: 67	Now I have another question. I have three raised beds and 12 whiskey barrels. Last year I planted most of my tomatoes in the whiskey and had good luck with them. They now need more soil added. Can I just add some rose soil to them along with my rabbit poop. I have spinach, lettuce and arugular planted in them now and they will probably be gone by the end of this month since we are having warmer weather. I used a lot of rose soil in them last year and they did good or would you suggest something else. First I have got to get rid of a bunch of wild hogs that we are trying to trap that has enjoyed tearing up my yard and part of my garden. Thanks for your help. Annie

February 4, 2013	#92
z_willus_d Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Eastern Suburb of Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,313	Annie, I haven't grown or "raised" roses, so I'm not a good one to comment on the appropriateness for rose soil application to tomato vines. If it's working well for you though, don't change it. Adding a bit of aged-manure and/or compost at the end of each season to refresh your barrels would be good. If you're growing in barrels, be sure to allow for drainage out the bottom, don't let them dry out in the sun, and think out a good support system for the vines. I'm sure others here can provide better advice for the rose soil. -naysen

February 25, 2013	#94
Dak Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: CA Posts: 494	That looks fantastic, nice job. Now for the fun part.

February 25, 2013	#97
Mlm1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Northern California Posts: 208	Nansen, that is beautiful and an unbelievable amount of work. Great job. Marla

February 25, 2013	#99
Crandrew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: asdf Posts: 1,202	Naysen, The bed looks awesome! May I ask why you decided to use sprinkler heads vs sub irrigation/drip lines?

February 25, 2013	#100
z_willus_d Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Eastern Suburb of Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,313	Hi Crandrew, thanks...I'm happy with it. On the irrigation, I've heard from several growers in different fields, all of whom I respect, that top irrigation (more like rain) is preferable to soakers. I know that it's desirable to keep the foliage dry, but I will not have to worry about that here as the risers will only douse the top 6" of the vines, and they'll be bare down that low to the ground. I can see and trust the coverage of this above ground irrigation setup. I know that everything is getting equal watering, since I have a circular setup where all risers will see the same water pressure. You don't get that with those soaker hoses, or even drip, where the pressure will fall off somewhat as you move away from the source toward the end-points. It's easy to repair this setup. I don't have to worry about a broken hose flooding one location and causing a drought in others. I think I can be reasonably water conservative once I get my 4-6" inch of redwood bark mulch loaded in the beds (the worms love that stuff too). I'm sure there are other reasons for one vs. the other, but the above is what comes to mind for me. Best. -naysen

February 25, 2013	#101
Crandrew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: asdf Posts: 1,202	got it, thanks.

February 25, 2013	#102
Annie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Katy, Texas 77493 Posts: 67	Great looking bed, how is your back hold up? Annie

February 25, 2013	#103
Annie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Katy, Texas 77493 Posts: 67	When I went back and looked at the 1st. pictures I couldn't believe all the work. Also know why you need good soil. I wanted to do something similar to what you did but it was on flat land and nothing like as high. There is a place down from me that grows vegetables for the poor and they have done the same thing. I went and looked at it but figured there was no way I could do myself even with help so I just stuck with the smaller beds. You don't have to bend down, just walk along and pick all those tomatoes, though you might have to use a ladder. Annie

February 25, 2013	#104
z_willus_d Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Eastern Suburb of Sacramento, CA Posts: 1,313	Hi Annie, Yes, a large part of the effort was in digging into the hillside and building up a terrace upon which to level the wall (and a path adjacent to it for walking and backside access). Building up the wall and dumping in the soil seems like easy street compared to that back breaking pick work. There's 70% river-rock in the hillside; the rest is sand and worm droppings/compost. Have a great season. -naysen

March 1, 2013	#105
Annie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Katy, Texas 77493 Posts: 67	I just saw an article that granular molasses was good to put in your garden soil. I was at the nursery the other day and saw bags of soil which contained molasses. It was also quite expensive. I have granular molasses that I use for fire ants but never thought about putting it in my garden soil. Has anyone heard of this. Annie